- Messages
- 278
- Location
- Los Angeles
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Giant Mealworms morphing!
- Thread starter Phobik1
- Start date
- Messages
- 4,163
"Giant" mealworms morph into beetles, Tenebrio molitor, in 4 stages. The most desireable stage for our purposes is the larval stage, the worm.
Looks like you have 3 stages of the 4 stages in your pics: larvae, pupae and the beetle.
If you keep them in the refrigerator you can slow the cycle dramatically so they don't all turn into beetles.
Looks like you have 3 stages of the 4 stages in your pics: larvae, pupae and the beetle.
If you keep them in the refrigerator you can slow the cycle dramatically so they don't all turn into beetles.
- Messages
- 2,035
- Location
- Norwich, UK
The beetle is one of the reason we chop the heads off mealworms. As the beetle could harm our slings. Chopping the heads off mealworms, stops them from burrowing themselves to safety & then popping up a beetles sometime later.
Personally I use both the beetles & the pupa as food. I chop the head off the beetles & the end off the pupa. This allows slings easy access to the food.
Personally I use both the beetles & the pupa as food. I chop the head off the beetles & the end off the pupa. This allows slings easy access to the food.
- Messages
- 278
- Location
- Los Angeles
Yea, i found that page too. At least i can feed the beetles to my larger spider. Ill still chop the heads off before feeding."Giant" mealworms morph into beetles, Tenebrio molitor, in 4 stages. The most desireable stage for our purposes is the larval stage, the worm.
Looks like you have 3 stages of the 4 stages in your pics: larvae, pupae and the beetle.
If you keep them in the refrigerator you can slow the cycle dramatically so they don't all turn into beetles.
- Messages
- 4,163
Not a popular feeder among spiders due to ultra hard exos and gangly legs
Let us know how it works out for you
- Messages
- 278
- Location
- Los Angeles
So far they dont eat the pupa. Ill try the beetles next.
thebookman10
New Member
- Messages
- 20
- Location
- Tilehurst, Reading, England, UK,
Personally I just take out any that turn into pupae or beetles and put then in my mealworm farm. The pupae are really juicy, but don't move so unless you tong feed the T it will not eat it. The beetles have a hard exoskeleton, and can chew on a spider after it moults which is why I always tong feed any beetles I might have to feed. Honestly it is really easy and cheap to set up a mealworm farm, the only downside is in my area during the winter all production stops and I have wait until temperatures warm up so the eggs in the substrate hatch and turn into mealworms. You can often have 2-3 generations of mealworms in a long summer though.
